The ROMs database runs on a master server (which the company calls a CommCell) and listens for alerts related to backup, data replication and archiving, by way of software agents installed on client servers. A web-based dashboard records any alerts and — if you have a premium service license on the system — reports the errors to CommVault over a secure socket layer connection.

ROMs services use per-server licenses that come in three flavors of mineral: gold, platinum and diamond.

A gold license offers system monitoring, reporting to the admin via e-mail, the possible cause of the error weighed against CommVault's knowledge base and troubleshooting suggestions.

Platinum adds alert verification from a CommVault engineer, who will grab the relevant log info and open a service ticket.

At a Diamond level, the CommVault engineer calls the network admin and can offer remote support.

The software running on the CommCell is licensed at 25 per cent of the cost of the server per year. The service, as well as client licenses, are sold month-to-month at $6 for Gold, $8 for Platinum, and $10 for Diamond. License levels can be moved between systems, but the number of licenses cannot be reduced once they're purchased. Madness!

CommVault's backup monitoring scheme is shared by some heavy hitters such as IBM's Tivoli Storage Manager and Symantec's NetBackup environments. EMC also jumped into the backup software-as-a-service game last week with MozyPro. ®